Jump
by XoxStrifexoX
Summary: WARNINGS: YAOI - ERERI & RIREN - CHARACTER DEATH - TRIGGERS/SUICIDE - "You really are such a brat. What makes you think that you or anyone else for that matter, having any grasp on this illusionary thing you call 'control.'"


Sometimes, when the night sky settled over, and the city lights illuminated the skyline in place of the more radiant sun, Eren found himself making his way up to the flat roof of his apartment building. It was a pain to get up there, he didn't have a key to open the door in the hallway, but being blessed with a top floor apartment allowed him access through the sky light. Granted, he had to climb his counter and fridge to get to it, but the sight, once he stepped out toward the ledge, made the mini acrobatics well worth it.

Most of the apartment buildings in the area were eye level. The golden street lamps and tiny white string of lights wrapped around empty branches. The chill of late fall stripped the few trees lining the sidewalks of all their leaves, short of a few stranglers. Occasionally, the chatter of people passing by and soft sounds of the small city playing in tune, created a sort of soothing harmony to combat any, otherwise, unsettling silence.

He loved living here. He loved the sights and sounds. He loved the people, the food, the city itself, far more than he ever liked living in the middle of nowhere. Here on his roof, when he needed time to himself and some kind of relief from the high traffic lifestyle that accompanied it, he'd ascend through the sky light and take in the serene view of the metropolis. He discovered solace from his mini safe haven, high above the busy streets and walkways. It provided him a new perspective of the city, one open, stretching wide, past what the eye could see. His sight line no longer limited to the buildings blocking its path. From his small paved roof, he could easily see over the outstretch of rooftops and flickering lights in the distance.

Nights like tonight, following an unpredictably stressful barrage of nonsense between classes and work, were perfect for him to climb up to the roof and clear his head. Usually, he held off on going up on particularly chillier nights, but for tonight he'd make an exception. Throwing a scarf around his neck, and bundling himself under two zip up jackets and a larger coat, he made his way up.

Unlatching and pushing aside the plastic hub blocking his path, he pulled himself up and climbed onto the edge with a small grunt of effort. Upon lifting himself up, he realized he wasn't alone. He froze as he lifted his head, ass parked on the edge of the concrete. He never expected to see anyone else up here, he knew he wasn't the only one with an apartment on the top floor, but no one else had ever bothered coming up. At least not that he knew of.

He mauled over just jumping back down and giving the other figure some privacy. On one hand, he really wasn't in much of a mood for dealing with an awkward conversation, or even getting to know someone, at the moment, in general. He wanted some time alone to relax and unwind. On the other hand, his day had been such a roller coaster of aggravation, that he needed this time on top of his personal sanctuary. He left out a huff of breath, resigning himself.

Planting his feet, he hauled himself up, and placed his hands in his coat pockets as he walked closer to the other figure. Once he was but a few steps away, he could tell that the figure was a male. A male, whom, was rather short in stature, compared to himself. If he had to guess, he'd assume the guy would barely be able to see past his shoulder. Which, to him, was saying something, considering he didn't think his own height to be very impressive either. As his gaze fell down as he approached, he was alarmed by how close he realized the male was to the edge of the roof. The toes of his shoes pushed little less than an inch over the ledge, the relaxed posture betraying how precarious the position was.

He watched as a broad shadow of a hand plucked a cigarette, presumably from his lips, and into view, off to the side. Gray puffs of fog streaming forward then up into nothing. Eren traced the hand back to the body of it's owner and couldn't help but wonder how the seemingly slender male wasn't freezing. He seemed to only be wearing a thin looking long sleeve and loose sweatpants. Hardly enough to shield his skin from the cold of mid-November.

Not wanting to spook him, and knock him off balance, Eren spoke up gently, "Not planning on jumping off now, are you?"

The tone of his voice made it obvious he said the sentence in jest. Honestly, a poor attempt on his part to break the ice, and as he thought about it, maybe it wasn't the most appropriate thing to joke about. Actually, as an ice breaker, it was truly a rather terrible thing to joke about. To a friend, who knew him well enough to casually banter back and forth on touchy topics, perhaps it would have been ok, but to a complete stranger… He had no way of knowing if he would offend the man or not, and he certainly ran a high risk at the accusation, joking as it may be. It just happened to be the first thing that popped into his head, as he recalled how close to the edge the guy was standing. He'd always been told he needed to think before he spoke, and at this moment, like many others instances, he completely and utterly agreed. If he had a time machine he'd easily jump back a couple minutes and shove his own foot in his mouth.

When the other male doesn't bother to answer, he thinks about apologizing and starting over. He searched for something to say, to try and correct himself. As he makes the last few steps to stand side by side to the stranger, his hand absent mindedly scratches at the back of his head in the awkwardness of it all. He glances over, and to his amusement, slightly down to the man at his side. The difference in height prompts his mind to offer him 'cute' as a premature description, but really getting a good look at him up close, he's probably anything but that. Silently watching as the male brings his hand up to take a long drag from the stick pinched between his thumb and index. It's a fairly peculiar way to hold one, odd, he thinks, and he can't helpit when his eyes follow the smoke that he exhales.

"Ah, yeah… sorry I shou-.."

With a quick release of air and the remaining smoke in his chest, dull eyes remained focused ahead as he spoke through the burn of his lungs, "Maybe."

Eren blinks in confusion, not sure he heard him right, "W-What?"

A frown pulls at the man's lips, thin against it as the corners pinching in. "Maybe," he drawls out irritatbly, eyes shifting to him briefly to make sure he caught it this time around.

Eren swallows and adverts his eyes to his feet, digging his hands, or at least trying to, deeper into his pockets. The flat, serious tone in complete contrast his own playful question. Feeling uncomfortable with the situation, and the response, Eren dug at his ankle with the heel of his opposite shoe, glancing off to the side.

"T-That joke was in bad taste. I shouldn't have asked that." As an afterthought before he looked back up and squared his posture, forcing his voice to come out firmly, "You shouldn't say such a thing either, it's really not funny."

He watches the corner of the shorter males lips curve, twitching up ever so slightly. His eyes moved back on him, holding his gaze in a show of amused disbelief, before glancing down to his own feet. Lifting his foot in the air, and balancing on his left, the shorter male tilted his head. His eyes following the appendage so he could see nothing but the street below his foot. The street below, in comparison, looking smaller and somehow, insignifcant. It was if he was stomping out the world under his heel. Eren couldn't help but wonder if this man was thinking the same thing or something along those lines. Eren felt his heart speed up as the man swayed; appearing off balance. His body jerked forward as he extended his arm at the ready, preparing to react should the other lose his balance. He was being completely reckless. He could easily fall, what the hell he was thinking? The man let his stare linger a bit longer. His gaze seeming appreciative as he examined the mini world below his shoe, seeming to completely leave Eren in disregard. With a click of his tongue, he eventually sets it down.

"Who says I was joking?"

Eren looked at him incredulously, speaking with a hint of anxiety, "You don't 'really' mean that. I mean, you wouldn't do that."

The man just scoffed and turned his head away in favor of inhaling more of the toxic wrap in between his fingers.

Eren felt his ears warming up, agitated that he was brushed off so callously. Sure, he could have been a bit more tactful, but even so, this guy was just ignoring his concern.

"That was kind of rude," he bites out.

Flicking some ash of the edge, the male responded with a simple, 'Oh.'

"It was rude," Eren, apparently, needed to spell this out for him, since, whatever worry he felt was being cast aside so easily, "It's rude to brush someone off like that."

"It's also rude for one to assume."

Eren couldn't argue that. He wanted to, he truly did, but the finality in his tone and the truth of the simple statement forced him to chew on the inside of his cheek instead. He didnt know this man or anything about him, let alone what he was capable of. This day just seemed to be rolling further and further downhill. Rolling? Who the hell was he kidding. He might as well have been trying to walk up a steep incline coated in a mile thick layer of vaseline. With a loud sigh, Eren mumbled an apology. While he settled himself down to sit on the ledge, arms stretched back to hold his weight, he also mumbled he wasn't the only one had been rude. After an extended silence, Eren trying hard not to think too much about the other male's words, and trying to not care either way what they implied, the shorter of the two spoke up.

"What's your name kid?"

Eren frowned at his quip but focused on the squares of light offset by curtains on the neighboring building to distract him from making a snippy, and probably fairly lame, comeback, "It's Eren."

After another moment of silence, Eren realized he wouldn't get an answer unless he asked for it directly. Glancing to the side, trying to fight back a glare he asked, "Are you going to tell me yours?"

"Ah, you really are a presumptuous brat aren't you?"

"What the hell? Who are you calling a brat?"

Rather than toss out another sarcastic response, the male easily dodged the question. The temptation to do so anyway, clearly visible in his expression.

"You never asked. 'Eren'."

The way the name fell off his lips made the brunette shift under the scrutiny. He dragged each syllable out over his tongue in a mocking manner, but somehow, he couldn't feel all that insulted by it, just, perhaps, flustered.

"Yeah? Fine. Well, I'm asking now."

"Are you?"

This fucking guy, Eren bit back his tongue and forced out the question, "May I ask your name?"

"You may."

The bastard was fucking smirking now.

"What is your name?"

"Levi," the cigarette found his mouth again. The pucker of his lips around the small cylinder, embarrassingly enough, didn't go unnoticed by the brunette. When Eren realized he was staring enough to see the retraction of Levi's lips pulling back as he inhaled and relaxing with a soft pop, he tried to situate his focus elsewhere. Not that his new choice of subject was any less conspicuous.

Upon closer inspection, he saw that the man wasn't as small as he initially thought. Height wise he was petite, but build wise… He looked like, despite his slim physique, he carried some weight. More than likely it was situated in his muscles, at least, by the definition pushing against the long sleeved shirt suggested. His neck gracefully curved into an angled jaw with a trim trim straight nose, high cheek bones and deep set eyes. Black hair pushed back and off to the side, hanging low to his ear with the sides and back undercut. All and all he looked fairly young, and pretty attractive, save for the dark circles cutting in under his eyes on the otherwise flawless skin, suggesting he was older than he looked.

"So you weren't joking," Eren asks cautiously, "I mean… you weren't actually thinking about… you know… jumping… or anything right?"

Levi raises a brow, but doesn't turn to him. Rather, he leans forward to glance over the edge, "I was, actually, before some brat went and disturbed my train of thought. Right before you so elegantly broached a conversation, I thought, 'perhaps', but could you imagine the mess that would make? I was thinking, whether or not I'd give a shit if someone had to scrap my ass off the pavement, but you know what? That prick would get paid to do so. So maybe I'd be doing him a favor in the end don't you think?"

Eren tries to process everything that's been said, but quickly falls short. He couldn't possibly keep up with the morbid trail of thought. Who would even think of it that way? Eren would have imagined anyone even considering doing something so rash would be emotionally distraught, but Levi... He might as well have been talking about the weather in his bored tone. And sure, he's been depressed before, and he's sure everyone has and will get in such a mood. But what could possinbly lead you into thinking in such a manner or actually consider it? His brows furrow in contemplation, not sure if it's something he should question, but he can't stop his curiosity from opening his mouth for him.

"What could possibly be so bad that you would even consider that? Any of that?"

Levi glanced at him for a moment, a hidden emotion behind dark eyes betraying his passive features, voice grave as speaks, "What indeed…"

With a shrug of his shoulders he simply concludes, back in the bored tone he had been using before, "Nothing in particular."

Eren's frown deepens, confusion eating away at him. The mystery and awkwardness causing an inner battle of whether or not to flee. He held no responsibility to this strange man or his actions, yet he was intrigued, and to be honest, even if it were his worst enemy, he wouldn't be able to find it in himself to abandon someone talking so casually about suicide.

Eren felt a bit self-conscious in asking but he let out a breath and tried anyway, "D-Did something… I dunno. Trigger you or something?"

At that Levi turned slightly to face him more, a look of confusion spelt across his features, "Trigger?"

Eren wanted to groan. What the hell was this night even turning into? He came out here for some fresh air, wanting to take a breather, and here he was asking a complete stranger about why he may or may not be contemplating jumping off the one place that was supposed to be his own personal nirvana.

"A trigger… You know, something that sets you off. Puts you in a mood. Makes you depressed… o-or something."

Apparently, the ability to articulate any coherency was lost on him at this moment. Probably, one of the more delicate moments in his life time that called for a certain level of savoir faire.

The response he got forced his stomach to drop. Angry and feeling humiliated as the bastard tossed his head back and 'laughed'. Fucking laughed. Full and hearty, as if someone just told him the funniest joke in the universe, he laughed. Eren's cheeks burned. His hands balling into fists in his pockets. What the hell was wrong with this guy?

When the laugh finally died down, Levi let out a few remaining chuckles.  
"You really are a brat aren't you?"

"Excuse me?"

"Triggers? Really?"

He had to bite back a curse. Who the fuck did this guy think he was ridiculing him like this?

"It's completely normal, everyone has a certain event or word or thing their sensitive to. There's nothing strange about it, and like I said, it's completely normal. And it's fine so long as you don't act on those impulses. If you're trying to under mind…"

Levi didn't let him finish, "Kid. Kid. Don't knot your panties in a bunch. For Christ's sake, quit being so god damned sensitive. That's the problem with your generation, you've been coddled to damn much. You think I experienced a trigger and want us to talk it out? You're not my therapist brat. I wasn't raised to talk about my feelings, or succumb to this bull shit you're spewing. Normality? Normal was put up or shut up, nothing more nothing less."

At some point Levi had leaned in closer to him. Their faces little over a foot away from each other. Defiantly, Eren held his gaze, not willing to stand down while this man belittled him and an entire populous of people who actually suffered through these occurrences.

"Maybe that's part of your problem."

Levi's gaze remained flat, eyes flickering over his eyes as if searching for something as a small smile briefly bit back on his lips, "Maybe," he let out with a breath.

Levi settled himself to sit down, not too far away from the seething male he had just offended. Silence stretched between the two. Eren, once again, debating on retreating to his apartment and trying to forget this odd encounter all together. He was just trying to be helpful, and here this guy was, not just shooting him down but literally belittling him over everything that came out of his mouth.

Maybe he sensed this, saw that he was about to bail and call it a night; stop himself from further concerning himself with him. Because, once he opened his mouth to speak once more, Eren felt resolute in staying just a bit longer.

"I guess… I'm just tired," Levi offered quietly.

Eren looked in his direction at the worn features on Levi's face and smiled a bit sadly, "You look tired."

"Ah, at least I'm consistent."

Eren's smile brightened a little bit. The tension before slowly dissipating into something more comfortable. Comfortable enough for him to offer a few more words on the topic before completely giving up.

"Sometimes. Sometimes I feel like I'm losing control. Like I can't get a grip on things and everything gets out of hand. It's exhausting. Everything you try to do slips right in between your fingers and you can't reign it in."

A humorless chuckle caught Eren's attention and he immediately set his jaw. At the tense reaction, Levi just waved him off, telling him to relax.

"I don't mean to laugh, really."

Yeah, sure. Because 'that' was convincing.

"I'm being serious."

"Eren," Levi's hand slid forward against the concrete, his left shoulder turning towards him as he leaned forward mere inches away from his face, "It's because you're serious."

At the lost expression adorning his face, Levi's lips curled up, ever so slightly.

"You really are such a brat. What makes you think that you or anyone else for that matter, having any grasp on this illusionary thing you call 'control.'"

Eren opened his mouth to speak, but Levi caught him off guard. Cold lips pressed into his own. Levi's hand finding the juncture between his neck and under his ear to keep him in place as he moved his tongue over the parted lips.

At first Eren jolted back, hand immediately reaching up to pull Levi's away, but the sudden sway made him nervous. They were both sitting right on the edge of the building, if he pushed Levi the wrong way or moved himself off balance, they could easily fall off.

That thought bubbled away at his mind as he tried to pull back to escape the roaming lips meeting his own. Cold lips warmed up against his own, lapping and sucking gently at his bottom lip and opening more to allow Levi's tongue to probe further. He found himself sinking into the sensation, against his better judgment.

Why he stopped pulling back he wasn't sure, and he honestly had no clue when or why he started kissing back more frenzied than Levi began. Eventually, he felt Levi pull away just far enough so he could softly bite down on the bridge of his nose and lay a kiss over top of it.

"You don't even have control now. Control is nothing more than an inclination to console how much we lack it altogether."

"You lack any sense of empathy don't you," Eren asked but didn't care to receive an answer. Instead, he pulled Levi back into a kiss, his tongue eager to gain back the affections it experienced just moments before.

He wasn't thinking. If he was thinking, he would have realized how ridiculous this entire evening was. The fact that a man, a very obviously unstable and disgruntled man, whom he knew nothing more about than his name and a few of his blunt and narrow views, was pushing his hand through his hair and making out with him. To be honest with himself, he was glad he wasn't thinking.

When Eren's own hands met Levi's since he flinched back at how cold he was, "Levi, your cold."

"Hadn't noticed," Levi replied as he kissed along his jaw, not seeming deterred in the least.

Eren tilted his head to the side, sighing against the cool lips pressing against his skin. Levi tugging down at the scarf to gain more access to the column of his neck. The brunette leaned forward, catching Levi's hands and pulling them off to the side, lips catching the ravens before drawing back.

"Come on, we need to get you inside," saying this Eren unwound his scarf and circled it around Levi, kissing the tip of his nose before standing up and offering a hand.

"Well aren't you a gentlemen."

"Shut up," Eren chided, before leading him into his apartment. Dropping down into the kitchen, he briefly questioned what exactly he was doing by allowing Levi in his apartment. At least, considering how the last few minutes of dialogue were narrated by their tongues in a manner that didn't form any sounds even close to words.

Eren swallowed nervously as he heard Levi follow after him. Levi, right. He was freezing. Hot cocoa would be good, right? Something to warm him up. A beverage, to warm him up.

Eren pulled a couple mugs out from the cupboard and grabbed a couple of packets of instant cocoa.

"What are you doing?"

The question seemed slightly amused, and Eren fought down a blush that he fought desperately to convince himself was lingering from the cold.

"You're cold aren't you? People drink cocoa when their cold."

His logic was completely flawless. Really.

Levi slipped an arm around his waist, fingers trailing up the center of his coat to find his zipper and slowly pull it back down, "I'm not most people. If you haven't noticed, Eren."

His name was whispered against the back of his ear, causing him to shudder. His hands gripped at the packets and edge of his counter. He could hear each click of his zipper slowly separate. Levi's other hand finding interest in trailing up the side of his thigh.

"I noticed," Eren said a bit breathless as Levi worked at his jackets, freeing him from the three layers and exposing the hand to the thin cotton material of his t-shirt. Feeling brave Eren dug himself in further.

"How do you want to warm up then?"

"You. Eren. I want you to warm me up."

Cold fingers reached under his shirt to his bare torso, forcing a gasp from his lips and his abdomen contract against the icy touch. Tracing up his heated skin, the cold contrast caused him to press back against Levi's form.

As those fingers warmed against his skin they trailed lower, teasing the hem of his briefs and pants.

What was he doing? What was he doing? Fuck.

The hand dipped lower, touching everywhere but where Eren suddenly decided he wanted to touch him. This was crazy, this was insane. He wasn't exactly keen on the idea of letting this proceed further, but it felt too good to argue. Grinding back against Levi, he knew he was getting himself in trouble, and at the moment he couldn't care.

He didn't want to think about what this was and wasn't. And for fuck's sake, he didn't want to even go into how awkward this could or would be when they were finished with whatever they ended up doing. All he wanted to focus on was the lips and his neck and the strong body pressed to his, wandering hands extracting soft moans from his lips in need for more.

It didn't take long for Levi to spin him around. Eren walking backwards to lead him to his room. He wouldn't worry about the repercussions of the morning after or even bother to entertain whether or not he would even get to know Levi further than tonight. It was fine this way, for now. This man was doing things to his libido that fogged any more contemplation.

Levi pulled off the remainder of his clothes, kicking them off as they stumbled backwards, and Eren, in turn, working at Levi's. He was right in his earlier assumption that the man had more muscle than he first appeared. He was built somewhat as well, but not nearly a clean cut and defined as the man before him.

Eren sat back on the bed as soon as he reached it. Mouth tracing down along the line of his abdomen. Encouraged by the hand in his hair, kneading his scalp, and the soft murmur of his name as he bit down softly on his hip.

Bending down, Levi drew Eren's lips to his own again. Placing his knees on either side of him as he ground down. It became nothing short of a blur, everything proceeding so quickly, Eren had no clue when Levi asked him where he kept the condoms. He didn't know how they came to the point where Levi unrolled it onto his erection using only his mouth, tongue pushing it down where his lips could not. He didn't know when Levi took the time to prepare himself or when he finally felt heat squeezing down around him.

He felt drugged, as Levi, leaning back on his heels and supporting his weight with his arms, bounced his hips up and down, burying himself over and over again on his cock. The arch of his spine and the stretch of his abdomen, kept his eyes and hands busy. It was a sight he was sure, not even the best porn could recreate.

Watching Levi's bobbing cock, Eren reached to grab for it. Wanting to bring Levi to release alongside him, but he was denied despite his efforts. Levi leaned forward, centering his body as he impaled himself with a moan. His right arm helped support his weight as his left wandered to massage Eren's balls and the taunt area just beneath it. The brunette's head nearly flung back, still keeping his eyes on the sight before him as he thrust up against the raven's hips.

The curve of Levi's lips, sinfully drew him closer, he let out a moan of warning, digging his fingers into Levi's thighs as he gripped them.

"Eren, cum."

The husky tone brought him over the edge, the command bleeding him dry as he bucked his hips up for the last couple times as Levi rolled his hips forward.

"Ah. Levi, you didn't," Eren tried to reach for Levi's own still solid member but was quickly slapped away.

Levi took his time to pin Eren's arms above his head with his left and nip at his ear, his right hand wandering lower.

"Not like that brat. I want to fuck you. I want to make you cum with my cock inside you. I want to taste you. I want you to let me cum all over your lips so you can taste me," the tip of his tongue drew in the lobe of his ear as he mouthed it between his lips, letting it go and kissing his cheek bone and back.

"Ne Eren, how does that sound?"

Eren had never gone so red in his life, and as Levi dropped his fingers in his ass he moaned shamelessly, wanting to do everything Levi just described to him and more.  
"Such a brat," Levi mused. Making good on every dirty little promise.

"Levi?"

Eren's chest rose and fell, Levi's head resting right over his heartbeat.

"Hm?"

Eren smiled softly, glad that Levi decided not to up and leave after they finished. He could handle a morning after as long as it left on good terms. While Levi's arm didn't move far, his fingertips made small half circles of his hip, warm breath fanning over his chest, only further serving to soothe him.

"Are you… free… sometime this week?"

"That good huh?"

Eren nearly choked, "Seriously?"

He could feel Levi smirking against his skin, and he couldn't help but chuckle, "I dunno. We can go get lunch or something."

The pause and the fading of the smirk had him suddenly feeling a bit uneasy, and even a bit disappointed.

"Maybe."

"I-If this was just…"

Eren began awkwardly but Levi quickly derailed him.

"It's not that," Levi sighed against his chest. The moist air sending goose bumps to claim his skin over as Levi chose his words carefully.

"I... don't like making promises I'm not sure I can keep."

"Ok."

Eren didn't really know where to go with it after that, but honestly, he couldn't say he expected much more. After nothing but the sound of breathing and the few sparse noises echoing in from the outside Levi spoke up so softly Eren almost missed it.

"Lunch… sounds nice."

Eren smiled. Relief at this not just being a one night stand, at the prospect of possibility getting to know the enigma known as Levi. With a yawn, Eren settled in, arm loosely holding Levi against his chest. Tiredness washing over him and not wishing to push his luck any further for the night Eren felt himself drifting off to sleep.

He could barely remember a kiss to his forehead, and the slits of his eyes peering up to see Levi before falling back asleep. It seemed like a dream as Levi softly spoke to him, brushing his bangs aside.

A loud insistent knock at his door jerked him out of slumber. He noticed, with a frown, that the bed was empty save for himself. And glancing about the room, he found all his articles of clothing neatly folded and placed on his desk. The evidence left behind that the night before transpired, and the fact that Levi took the time to clean up spread a soft smile on his lips. Worry that perhaps the night would've ended in a meaningless one night stand, not necessarily being true.

The series of knocks jarring him from his thoughts made him grumble. Shouting that he was coming, he dragged himself out of bed and quickly grabbed a pair of sweatpants, pulling them on as he made his way to the door.

Running his hand over his face, he opened the door, "Is there a reason you're pounding at my door a-."

The words died in his throat as his eyes settled on the two officers standing in his doorway.

"Eren Jaeger?"

"Ye-Yes. I'm him."

"We just have a couple questions. We're asking all the occupants of this building."

"Alright."  
His heart hammered in his chest, the events from last night drawing back the conversations exchanged hours before up on the roof.

"Do you happen to know a tenant named Levi Smith?"

Eren felt his mouth open, but nothing came out. Sudden realization dawning on him like a knife twisting in his gut. Every word from the night before rushed back to him. Every empty, contemplative look as they conversed. The way he carried himself, from his posture, gestures, words and even in his eyes, before they made their way off the rooftop. But why? Didn't he say he would enjoy spending time with him? Didn't he want to see where this would go? Didn't he have that and so much more to see him through until tomorrow? All his answers lie with the officers in front of him. Note pad and pen at the ready to take down each and every response to the next batch of questions he wasn't prepared to face. It was then he remembered Levi's softer response, 'I... don't like making promises I'm not sure I can keep.' He brought his hand in front of his mouth. His eyes dropping to his and the officer's shoes, not sure if he could trust himself to keep eye contact without swaying.

His dream. It wasn't a dream at all. Those words, it wasn't just some concoction of his sleep induced state.

Levi's lips, after descending down to kiss his forehead, lifted back just enough for the flesh to ghost over his skin as he spoke. 'I wonder what would've happened if I met you sooner brat.'

As Levi had begun to disappear from view, the last few words vibrated before he walked through the bedrooms threshold and sleep could draw him back in. 'Thank you... Eren.'

Notes:

( Piece by Piece I'm going to go back into this one shot *it will stay a one shot* and add in some dialogue or text where I think it needs it - So far I've gotten some wonderful feedback but I don't feel like this is up to par or where I want it just yet - so I'll be re-reading through it and editing it here and there - It's difficult to get free time to do anything really so it'll more than likely be done in sections. Some changes will be minor and some more extensive but the plot will remain the same -

That being said

When I COMPLETELY finish editing through and correcting it I'll reblog this on my tumblr :

Thank you guys 3


End file.
